Having agreed to visit Xiahou Di with Xue Qingqiu that evening, Xue Mu had already spent too long in Xue Qingqiu's room. It would be inappropriate to linger any longer, so he took his leave and returned to his own Bamboo Pavilion to rest.
Yue Xiaochan walked beside him. From upstairs, Xue Qingqiu watched them go, side by side, in silence. This time, she did not try to stop them.
She already understood exactly what kind of person Xue Mu was. He might have the same lustful nature as any man, but he had a strategic mind and enough composure. He knew what he could and couldn't do, and would never so much as brush against a forbidden line.
Yue Xiaochan's current romantic entanglement was such a forbidden line.
Yue Xiaochan herself understood that, and so did Xue Mu. There was no real need to worry about it.
Still, when she thought of the feelings Xue Mu had let show toward her, Xue Qingqiu found it rather amusing. What a brazen man—yet he had happened to scratch exactly where she itched. She didn't know whether to be angry or laugh.
The words she had used to tease Xue Mu earlier had been quite sincere. Her divine art was complete, and she had none of Yue Xiaochan's reservations. In other words, she really could find herself a man. It was just that no one—not even she herself, nor anyone in the sect—had ever entertained the idea. Xue Mu's desire for her had stirred that thought to life.
Putting Xue Mu aside, at least she really could find a suitable man.
One who shared her feelings, was strong enough, could be of help to her, and was reliable.
What a pity. Such a man... practically didn't exist.
Take the first requirement alone. What normal person could share the affections of a notorious demon queen? Even if someone could, he would most likely be from the demonic path. To be honest, although she herself was part of that world, Xue Qingqiu knew all too well that its people were almost impossible to trust. If she truly got involved with one, he might bring ruin upon the Star Moon Sect, leaving nothing but endless regret.
That was why Xue Qingqiu believed that falling in love so often ended in tragedy. Men who met her requirements were all but nonexistent. Once feelings took root, there were only two possible outcomes: they would love and destroy each other, or the sect would be thrown into turmoil. There was no third possibility.
As she pondered this, Xue Mu's departing figure came into view again. Could he be that third possibility?
Xue Qingqiu watched him for a long moment, then smiled faintly and shook her head. He was too weak...
To put it bluntly, he couldn't even break her hymen.
A man that weak, no matter how profound his wisdom, could at most earn her admiration. He couldn't kindle a spark; even making her heart flutter would be difficult.
Forget it. Most Sect Masters throughout the generations had lived and died alone. Perhaps she was destined to follow the same path. That was fate—why struggle against it? Xue Qingqiu turned away without a trace of emotion and sat cross-legged on the bed. With a will as firm as iron, she easily drove away those stray thoughts and soon entered a state of perfect serenity.
Yue Xiaochan and Xue Mu strolled through the bamboo grove again.
The bamboo still cast the same shifting shadows, and the breeze remained warm and fragrant, but the atmosphere from their walk that morning was gone for good.
It felt as if a long time had passed, though they both knew it had only been one morning.
"Uncle..."
Yue Xiaochan still called him that, and seemed to find it more natural with every passing moment. Xue Mu no longer corrected her. He merely answered, "Mm."
Yue Xiaochan kicked at the fallen leaves. "You didn't come from the Joyous Union Sect, did you?"
Xue Mu was taken aback. "Why would you say that?"
Yue Xiaochan smiled. "You care about looks and sensual pleasures, rather than acting out of genuine affection. That's the Joyous Union Sect's most obvious trait. If you told me you were one of their disciples, I wouldn't be surprised at all."
She spoke casually, clearly not actually mistaking Xue Mu for a member of the Joyous Union Sect. It was more like... a touch of reproach. What she really meant was that she was chiding him for not falling for her, even though he had nearly drawn her in.
"That's simply how ordinary people are. It's not unique to the Joyous Union Sect," Xue Mu said with a shake of his head. "Before I met you all, I didn't even know what the Joyous Union Sect was."
Yue Xiaochan murmured, "Then... where did you come from, really?"
She had asked him the same question when they first met, but Xue Mu had brushed it aside, and Yue Xiaochan hadn't pressed him. Now she brought it up again, not because she doubted his identity, but because she wanted to understand better the man who had disrupted her usual rhythm.
Xue Mu looked up at the gently swaying bamboo leaves. After a long while, he said, "Just think of me as someone who came from the heavens."
Yue Xiaochan laughed. "Can I take that to mean Heaven sent you to help Yu Gong?"
Xue Mu shook his head. "I think there are many, many things I can accomplish in this world. Helping the Star Moon Sect rise again is only the beginning."
"What ambition," Yue Xiaochan said, rubbing her cheek. "Uncle knows nothing about this world."
"Then you can tell me about it."
Yue Xiaochan thought for a moment, then answered seriously. "Actually, Uncle showed up at just the right time. A thousand years ago, the hundred schools fought for supremacy, and the world was in chaos. Back then, force decided everything. You could be as clever as you liked, but you still couldn't withstand someone casually slashing a city apart with a single sword strike, or laying waste to heaven and earth. The world still reveres martial strength now, but at least we're living in peaceful times. Someone like Uncle, with his head full of strange ideas, has plenty of room to put them to use... Well, at least they work pretty well for wooing girls. Didn't your own niece nearly fall for you? If Master hadn't stopped you in time, and Uncle had pressed his advantage and unleashed every trick in the book, maybe you would've had your way with me? Oh my... That would've been awful..."
Xue Mu had been listening intently. She had sounded quite sensible until that last turn, which changed the whole flavor of the conversation. He nearly stumbled, and replied awkwardly, "Can you say something serious?"
By then they had left the bamboo grove, and Xue Mu's own little Bamboo Pavilion was faintly visible. Yue Xiaochan stopped and smiled. "Something serious? The world's situation is more tangled than ever before. Your niece is still young, so she can't explain it clearly. Our all-capable Uncle will have to figure it out for himself. Or perhaps... discuss it with Master?"
Xue Mu's heart gave a jolt. He looked at her seriously. He sensed there was more to her words.
"Of course I can't hide it from Uncle. Why be so clever?" Yue Xiaochan sighed, then smiled. "Your niece has decided to leave the Capital City as soon as Martial Aunt Yin Ye comes out. But it won't be right away. Before I go, I still hope we can make the arrangements with the Hundred Flowers Garden that we've been working on these past few days a success. It's best to see things through, isn't it? So I'll still have to ask Uncle to share more of his brilliant plans over the next few days."
Xue Mu pressed his lips together and said nothing.
Yue Xiaochan lifted her head to meet his gaze, still smiling. Light rippled in her eyes, concealing all her thoughts, making them impossible to read.
After a long while, Xue Mu sighed. "Where are you going?"
"The Southern Region, to collect a debt," Yue Xiaochan said softly. "It's time the world heard of Yue Xiaochan. I trained hard for ten years, all so I could make a name for myself and shake the world. I can't leave everything for Master to shoulder alone... She's tired, too... Mm... It'd be nice if she had a man to cherish her..."
For a long time, Xue Mu didn't know what to say.
In just half a day, the little girl seemed to have changed. Before, she had been a clever girl whose thoughts were easy to read. Now Yue Xiaochan had begun to take on the air of a bewitching woman who could throw the world into turmoil—her thoughts elusive, strange, and uncanny.
Their martial arts were truly strange. A mere change of heart could make someone grow so much.
Yue Xiaochan didn't wait for Xue Mu to respond. She clasped her hands behind her back and sauntered off, swaying with every step. "If Uncle really has feelings for my Master, then work harder over the next two or three years. Otherwise... if your niece comes back all grown up and you still haven't succeeded, you'll have a real headache."
At the very end, "Uncle" finally became "you" again. As the stress fell on that last word, her strolling steps lifted from the ground. Her white robes fluttered as she drifted away, vanishing into the bamboo grove in an instant, like a sprite briefly appearing in a dream.
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